Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday that the presence of foreign forces would be the main source of tension in the Gulf.
Rouhani's statements came during a meeting with Oman’s foreign minister in Tehran, according to the official presidency website.
France, Italy and Denmark gave initial support for a British plan for a European-led naval mission to ensure safe shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, proposed after Iran’s seizure of a British-flagged tanker, three senior EU diplomats said last week, Reuters reported.
“The presence of foreign forces will not only not help the security of the region, but will be the main factor for tension,” Rouhani noted.
He also said Iran and Oman had primary responsibility for securing the Strait of Hormuz.
“The roots of the unpleasant events and tension in the region today are the unilateral withdrawal of America (from the 2015 nuclear deal),” he added.
Meanwhile, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, told lawmakers on Sunday that Tehran will restart activities at the Arak heavy water nuclear reactor, the ISNA news agency reported.
ISNA cited a member of parliament who attended the meeting, Reuters reported.
Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.
On July 3, Rouhani threatened that Tehran would increase its uranium enrichment levels and start to revive its Arak heavy-water reactor after July 7 if the nations in the nuclear pact did not protect trade with Iran promised under the deal but blocked by the US sanctions.
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